The federal budget posted a record monthly deficit in February

The U.S. posted its largest monthly budget deficit on record in February with a gap of $234 billion, breaking the previous $231.7 billion mark set in February 2012, Bloomberg reports.

The big picture: According to Treasury data released Friday, the deficit for the first five months of this fiscal year jumped to $544.2 billion — a 40% increase from the 2018 fiscal year — as corporate and individual tax revenues declined following President Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

Go deeper: U.S. budget deficit grew by $113 billion in fiscal year 2018